Shock absorber



J. P. BURKE.

SHOCK ABSORBER. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 16. 1921.

Patented. Oct. 17, 1922.

a ATTORNEY or it a v we in it arcane JAMES P. BURKE, OF ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY.

SHOCK ABSORBER.

Application filed November 16, 1921. Serial No. 515,638.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES P. BURKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Arlington in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shock Absorbers, of which the following is a specification.

This .invention relates to road vehicles and has particular reference to shock ab- 'sorbers or such devices as are intended for reducing the bounce or recoil of the springs as a result of excessive relative vertical -movement of the vehicle body, a circumstance that is apt to occur as a result of the running of one or more of the wheels into a depression in the roadway.

Among the objects of the invention, therefore, is to provide a resilient or flexible attachment between a vehicle body and the axles, having the adaptability of flexibly resisting the relative up or down movement of the vehicle body or frame with respect to the axles. To this end I provide auxiliary spring devices so connected to the frame and the axles as to have no substantial effect on the usual springs when the vehicle is idle and unloaded, but which will have the effect of tending resiliently to resist the relative movement of the body in either direction, up or down, with respect to theaxles.

Another object of the invention is to provide auxiliary resilient connections between the four corners and the chassis and the axles of a vehicle, the said connections being of such a nature as not to resist objectionably the action of the main springs within ordinary limits, but which will supplement the action of the usual springs for reinforcing them when abnormal conditions are encountered which would tend to strain or break the usual springs or to cause objectionable bouncing of the vehicle body, this advantage following especially such a condition of the roadway as would tend to cause one corner portion of the vehicle body to be displaced up or down excessively.

With the foregoing and other objects in View the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of one front corner portion of a vehicle frame and theparts usually associated therewith and indicating one of my improved devices attached.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of one of the rear corners and axle casing with a similar shock absorber attachment.

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. l is a vertical sectional detail on the line H of Fig. 1.

Referrin now more specifically to the drawings fshow at 10 a conventional form of front axle above and upon which is supported a front corner portion of frame 11 through a standard spring 12 of any well known construction and having the usual functions. While I have indicated this portlon as of a Ford construction, I wish it to be understood that my improvement may be applied to other forms or types of machines without material reconstruction.

As applied to the front axle of the vehicle my improvement embodies a forwardly and downwardly extended or curved rigid arm 13 made as a casting or drop forging of channel construction and having at its lower end a hub 14 having in its lower side a recess 15, the top surface of which is convexed downward while the front wall of the recess is vertical at 16. In the type of cars above specified the front frame member 11 is of channel form with an open bottom, see Fig. 3, and the end 17 of the arm 13 co-operating therewith is turned at an angle to the main portion of the arm and is fitted upward into the interior of the channel 11, the side edges of the portion 17 being beveled. A U-bolt 18 embraces the member 11 and the two leg portions thereof pass downward through the side edge portions 19 of the end 17 for the attachment of nuts 20. By tightening these nuts on one U-bolt the tapered member 17 is drawn firmly and rigidly into interlocking engagement with the channel member 11. More than one of these U-bolts may be used if desired.

The resilient portion of the improvement comprises a compound leaf spring 21 including a leaf 22 and upper and lower leaves 23 of preferably normally fiat stock and so designed as to lie perfectly straight when the vehicle is unloaded. These leaves 22 and 23 abut against the vertical wall 16 of the hub 14:. and within the recess 15 they are provided with registering holes or slots 2&- through which a pair of clamping bolts 25 pass upward and are tapped into the body of the hub 14:. The holes 2a are large enough to allow suflicient movement up or down around the convex surface of the hub when making the attachment or adjustment. The rear end of the leaf 22 is clamped, asby means of a U-bolt 26, to the axle 10 or by any other suitable means. Before clamping the axleend-of the spring in place the anchored end of the spring is first adjusted around the convex surface of the recess so that the rear end of the spring simply touches the axle, the machine being empty and standing perfectly level. The attachment means for the spring will then both be tightened at both ends ofthe spring making a permanent connection between the arm 13 and the axle. From this manner of connecting the parts it must follow that any displacement of the axle either up or down I relatively to the body will be restricted resiliently by the spring 21, and while normal floating movements of the body up or down will not be undesirably resisted by the springs 21, the abnormal displacement will be so restricted, and so after the body may have so swung downward abnormaly, therecoil or bounce of the body upward, tending under the usual practice to break the springs 12, will be caught by the shock absorber springs, thus relieving the occupants of the vehicle from objectionable bounce and the main springs 12 from danger of breali- Connectedto the rear frame member 27 is a rigid arm 28 having the same general characteristics as the arm 13 including the hub 1 1 and an angularly disposed end 29 which is embraced by the projecting end of the member 27 and locked rigidly therein by means of a bolt 30. The arm 28 extends thence rearward and downward to about the level of the rear axle casing 31. The shock absorber spring is indicated the same as at the front of the vehicle and the parts thereof are similarly lettered. The leaf 22 is connected to the casing 31 by means of a U- bolt 26. The manner of connecting the messes likewise the same as above described in detail and shown in Fig. 4. The general description above given will be applicable to the rear as well as the front part of the machine.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character set forth, the combination with an axle, a vehicle frame, and a main spring supporting the frame upon the axle, of a shock absorber auxiliary to said main spring and comprising a rigid arm, means to fix one end of the arm to the frame while the arm extends thence forward and downward to about the level of the axle, a resilient spring attached to both the lower end of the arm and the axle without tension when the vehicle is unloaded, said spring thus serving to resiliently resist upward or downward relative displacement between the axle and the frame.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 in v which the spring is of a compound leaf con? struction and with the parts normally flat.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which the resilient portion of the shock absorber is adjustable up or down around a and extended into the open side of the chan nel member, clamping means to fix the turned end of the arm therein, said arm extending thence downward and terminating in a head having a recess in its lower part bounded at one end with a vertical wall and at the upper side with a downwardly convexed bearing surface, a leaf spring member fitted adjustably in said recess and bearing against said vertical wall and rounded surface, and means to clamp the spring member at any desired angle with respect to the arm.

'5. A device as set forth in claim 4'. in which the spring member includes a plurality of flat leaves seated in said recess and having therein a plurality of registering holes, and a pair of clamping bolts passing loosely through said holes for locking the spring at any desired angle.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature;

JAMES P. BURKE. 

